India, Sept. 18 -- Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday slammed the Election Commission over its decision of directing rival Trinamool Congress factions to not use the party name and the "flowers and grass symbol" during the West Bengal bypolls, saying the poll body's constitutional responsibility is to protect the mandate but instead, it is aiding those very forces that overturn the people's verdict.

"First Shiv Sena, then NCP, and now Trinamool Congress. Every time, the same pattern - BJP and the Election Commission join forces to split a party. Then its election symbol is snatched away," Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X.

When an entire party can be stolen, it's hardly surprising that the votes of crores of Indians can be stolen ...